Silhouette
by alpona
Summary: sequel of 'spellbound'. Antonio is trying to cope up with his condition, but a new threat approaches them. will the rangers be able to fix a friendship they screwed up so much ? *chap 4 is up!
1. Chapter 1

**A/N- hey everyone ! here I am again with the sequel of 'Spellbound'. There's no intro this time ! get directly into the story after spellbound**. **I'm very happy to see the reviews,I hope my friends are still reading this !**

Note- there's no pairing in this story, it focuses more on the team bond, friendship and trust.

* * *

There he was, away from the crowd, away from his friends, away from the only home he knew, away from everything.

Antonio was leaning against the railing of the pier, staring at the water. The nice, cold water seemed to be the perfect place to end the burning that was going inside, but he dismissed the idea. He stood there dizzy, not exactly knowing what to think. Everything felt so meaningless. Their laughter… memories… faded away. What happened, has happened, there was no complaining about that. But still there was a sharp pain inside him. No, not the burns, it was something more.

"_Am I that untrustable?_" was the only question coming in his mind.

Suddenly Antonio heard a soft clicking sound. He turned his head to see…

"Octo!" He wasn't actually expecting his zord to come here. "What are you doing here?" Antonio asked as he took Octozord on his palm.

Octozord made another clicking sound in response. A little smiled crossed his face seeing his old buddy.

"You should be with the rangers, they'll need you." Antonio sighed. "Even though I hate to admit it, you don't actually belong to me. The Shiba family is your real owner."

Antonio finished with another sigh. Octozord moved in his hand, then flew up and landed on his shoulder.

Antonio looked up, at the sky.

"Do you trust me Octo?" He asked suddenly. Octo made a noise. Antonio sighed again.

"I know what they're going through and all; it was just a spell, but…" He looked at Octo, "Couldn't I earn any faith from the team? Was I really, always an outcast? Am I such a person that no one can trust? Did they really think I can do such a thing ? Is it so that if someone claims to be right, I'll be considered wrong? I couldn't prove myself, nor am I trustworthy. Am I that bad Octo?" Antonio finished, he could feel a gulp in his throat, tears threatening to spill. He looked away.

"Go back, Octo." He quietly said. "They have the black box; they'll be able to operate you. Besides, I can't even instruct you anymore. You don't need me." Antonio held Octozord out. Octo did another clicking sound.

Antonio gave a sad smile. "I know. We're buddies. At least you didn't get spelled." He took a breath and fist-tentacle bumped Octo.

"Go to your job, buddy." Antonio looked as Octo flew away; he stared at the setting sun, where Octo disappeared at the horizon.

He stood up from the leaning position and moaned in pain, standing straight wasn't easy. His ribs were not fully recovered yet; sometimes he could hear the sound of displacing bones. And so was his heart and mind, all broken.

"Well, well, well; a ranger all alone and unwanted." A voice crackled behind him. "What a pity."

Antonio quickly turned around and saw Serrator standing there. He took a defensive stance.

"You can still be useful, to us." Serrator said with an evil smile and left. Antonio stood there, confused. Serrator's appearance has made it worse.

"It doesn't matter anymore. I don't have any powers. I'm just a person, unworthy, not trustable. It's living like a silhouette…" He finished with a sigh.

The sun was quickly setting down. Even the sun seemed to be broken, fade of light, trying to express a sad burden in the heart which no one can understand.

"The world is such a weird place." Antonio whispered to himself.

* * *

**A/N- Quiz- how many times Antonio sighed here ? lol. Anyways, I don't know, this scene came in my mind a long time ago, more cheesy than the others! I also have the last scene written, with no middle part ! **

** Tips- you can keep listening to the song 'silhouette' by owl city while reading this story as the background music. It has some similarity with Antonio's condition. **


	2. Chapter 2

A/N- thank you all for reading this ! I'm updating, guess I'm not late, right ? now my free times are coming to an end, so don't know if I can be as fast as before.

* * *

_"if you don't trust me, I'll leave."_

The rangers were sitting in the living room.

"did we just…. Let him go like that ?" Kevin asked, stopping his pacing.

Mike sighed and folded his arms. "why'd he be with us anyways ? we're the ones who can kill him anytime." He simply said.

There was silence again.

"and… we couldn't give any answers to what he said. He was… logical." Emily brought up the discussion again.

"wasn't he acting a little too calm for himself ? like a different, grown up Antonio." Mia asked.

"what else do you expect ? he had a near-death experience." Mike again said obliviously.

"although I thought he'll totally freak out seeing us, but…. Man, his theories does make sense." Kevin mumbled.

"did you really destroy his morpher ?" Mentor opened his mouth after a long time.

Everyone looked down again, especially Jayden.

"ya. That was…. Too far." Kevin finally answered. "we shouldn't have done that."

"shouldn't have done any of those." Mia or Emily muttered.

"that was indeed too far. Heck, what am I talking about, even _I _was blinded by that nighlok." Mentor made a scowled face and looked away.

Jayden was still sitting silent. They all knew he's the one feeling worst, but as usual, not able to show it. They wondered what was going on in his mind.

"the nighloks completely got us this time. we have to be extra careful about outsiders now." Kevin said.

"Just like _he_ said." Mike remarked, still being oblivious.

"Antonio's not any outsider ! he's definitely one of us !" Emily said, which seemed like a shout.

"of course I know that ! but that's what he's thinking now !" Mike yelled back.

"Mike why are you behaving like this ?" Mia asked.

"I'm just…. Angry alright ?"Mike stood up and walked a few steps. "with myself. How could I be…" he kicked a table, finally letting the feelings out.

"we're not that bad….. we can't be….." Mike tried to comfort himself.

"this yelling won't get us anywhere…." Mia began,

"I am such a friend, huh ?" Jayden spoke up, first time in a while. They all stopped and looked at him.

"I had a brother who kept his promise made so many years ago. He did unimaginable things, outdid himself many times…. And look at me, all I did was hurt him, from the beginning." Jayden said, referring to the first time when he rejected Antonio to be in the team.

The others felt really bad, they didn't find what to say to this.

"it wasn't your fault alone, we all are guilty." Kevin replied.

"you saw me back there. How can you deny it wasn't my fault ?" Jayden gave a sad/mischievous smile.

"we'll get our brother back." Emily patted Jayden and said her hopeful words, but even she didn't know if they can actually fix everything.

"but… have you guys noticed ?" Mia remarked "Antonio was still thinking about the team, about _us_, even when w were beating him. The fate of the people is much more important to him than his own condition."

Yes, they had to agree with it. All he was trying that night was to guide them to the truth.

"well, at least, now we know who'll have our complete faith in time of need." Mentor said with a trace of smile.

"but…. In which face we'll ask him to come… and fight ?" Kevin asked an important question. "we have no idea about making morphers, he had to work on it if he joins us, but…. Aren't all these too much to ask ?"

They became silent once again.

* * *

_I'm a silhouette, asking every now and then._

_Is it over yet ? will I ever smile again ?_

_I'm a silhouette, chasing rainbows on my own._

_But the more I try to move on, the more I feel alone._

He was walking down, destination unknown. The light he had left was behind him, remembering those golden days.

Suddenly there was a small explosion right in front of him, smokes emerged, and from that a figure slowly appeared….

Antonio's eyes were wide when the figure finally came out of the smoke,

"_You….. ?!_"

A/N- waiting for your reviews !


	3. confrontation, again

**A/N- soooorrryyy….. everyone for taking this long ! recently I'm having trouble in writing, is this what's called writer's block ? anyways, I finished at a cliffhanger, now I wish I could properly explain Antonio's expressions here, I could imagine those but don't know how clear they are, I'm such a bad writer !**

**Thanks to everyone who reviewed!**

* * *

Antonio stood still and stared at the face appeared from the smoke.

"Ad…Adri.." it was something he never wanted to see, Antonio pinched himself to see if it was another nightmare of his.

"Adriana, or Adromida, whatever you like to call. Don't tell me you also lost your memories ?" she looked at him with wide eyes.

Antonio didn't know how to react for a moment. It was Adriana, the human figure, but a side of her face was exposed to some nighlok parts.

"you're gone. The rangers finished you." Antonio said what was natural.

Adriana smirked. "can't I ask the same thing to you ?"

Antonio clenched his teeth, "how are you still here ?" he asked trying to sound threatening. He was getting tensed, a feeling of de-ja vu surrounded him. He was confronting Adriana, again. But hopefully things won't turn out like last time. _Last time…._

"there's no fun in playing with you, so I'll tell you, yes, the rangers _did_ destroy me." Adriana started to say in the same manner, "But know my multiplication power ? well, a copy managed to escape the blast. So here I am." She simply said.

Antonio didn't think how it makes sense, Adriana spoke up again.

"of course, as you can see, this remaining form is very weak, I won't be able to use my super nighlok powers anymore," she stopped pacing, "but I can still be the nice little spy ?"

"in your dreams." Antonio said to her.

"why ? don't you think I can go back to the team again?"

"with that face ? huh."

"hmm…. I can still work on that. Now I'll go, and break the team into pieces like before…." Adriana gave a wide grin.

"you think I'll let that happen..?!" Antonio got angry and gripped for his morpher, but wait, there _was_ no morpher.

"what's the matter ?Aww. Poor thing, don't tell me they even destroyed who you were ?"Adriana said in a teasing tone. Antonio just glared at her.

"I have to say," Adriana looked directly at Antonio, " why do you still care ? why don't you rather come, and, join _us._"

"how do you dare to say that ?!" Antonio shouted and lunged to hit her, but Adriana simply dodged away.

"no no, it'll be a mistake to attack, with the broken condition you're in." Adriana warned. "and by the way, you left your team anyways, right ?"

Antonio didn't answer.

"and didn't they even try to stop you ?" Adriana asked again. " they _really_ think you're not needed."

Antonio gulped and looked away. "It was my choice, I did what I thought was good for them."

"good for them ?" Adriana shook her head, "you're still thinking of their 'good' when they actually tried to kill you? Oh wait, not just _try_, they did think they've finished…"

"AND IT'S ALL BECAUSE OF YOU !" Antonio burst out, " you and your nasty spell, that spoiled everything !"

"wow, I didn't lie when I said you attacked me ! and…" Adriana paused, "why are you all thinking it was just me ? if it was just a spell, then why didn't it break when you were talking to them ? you know, that type of 'talking' always works !" Adriana said playfully.

"enough of your games" Antonio tried to hit her again, but in vain.

"oh, trying to put useless fights, tsk." Adriana said. "just be logical. It's your perfect time to take revenge." Adriana raised her hand forward, "So join us, and together we'll…"

"NEVER !" Antonio screamed and lunged, and this time was able to hit her. Adriana fell on the floor.

"I'm not like you revenge taking nighloks. _You_ are the one responsible for all of this, and _you_ always will be." He said firmly.

Adriana sat up, "think about it. I didn't hurt you at all !We'll definitely treat you better than they have."

"huh, treatment from the _nighloks_ ?" Antonio gave a mischievous smile, not believing a word.

"your firmness still surprises me. You'll be a lonely, broken person in this way" Adriana said.

"still doesn't stop me from being _me._"

Adriana smirked. "seems like you really are made from different stuff." She said. "_another reason the nighloks want you so much."_

Antonio looked away, "irrespective to whatever you say, Still they are the rangers, still there's a world to save, still, the nighloks have to be beaten." He said with the same determination.

"hmm. The 'world' and 'humans' you're trying to save," suddenly Adriana attacked and backhanded Antonio, "think again, how bad _they_ can be. They are alone enough to destroy themselves…" she continued.

_Destroy themselves._ Antonio's vision drifted to that night, "_leave him here to die…." _But Antonio snapped back out from it,

"don't talk like you know humans so well…!" he spun and tried to get out of the grip,

He's fighting again.

* * *

A/N- please review and cheer me up ! you can give ideas too.


	4. silhouette of himself

**A/N- I'm alive ! I know it's been a long time, I really feel horrible for disappearing like that. But this me and my writer's block, I feel like my hands are frozen whenever I tried to write ! I'm terribly sorryyyy!**

**Well, somehow I managed to write this, don't know how the writing is, maybe the style has changed a bit. But I feel like I lost my spirit.**

* * *

Emily broke the silence this time.

"we can't stand here like this forever !" she said to everyone, trying to sound cheerful.

Mike then stood up on his feet, "hey, should we just let him go like that ?"

Then suddenly everyone seemed to come back to reality.

"No," Jayden said, "we made a mistake, we can't afford to make any more !" he stood up.

"despite everything happened, I don't think it's safe to leave Antonio away like that." Mia said. "he can be in any danger." She added

"we should check." Kevin said and everyone nodded, then they all rushed out. A smile appeared on Mentor's face.

* * *

He was panting really hard, the already weakened body couldn't take anymore.

"you… won't…. make it this time….." Antonio hardly got those words out.

"why ? you think your ex-team would come and help ? what's the point even if they do come ? I'm getting a feeling of déjà-vu here." Adromida stated.

The scene of their previous confrontation flashed in his mind, how that turned out.

"this time," Antonio gritted his teeth, "I'll finish it right here alone !" saying this, he ran forward, last thing he remember was a big flash of light.

* * *

"guys, Look !"

What they saw instead of a Nighlok surprised them to death, it was, Antonio, and… _Adriana _?

But their surprise didn't last long, or should we say, the scene didn't last long as they saw a glimpse of Antonio rushing forward, and then something like a blast that blocked their sight.

When they looked again, only Antonio was lying on the ground. Unconscious, injured, like last time.

Everyone rushed to Antonio and laid him on his back.

"he's bleeding again !" Emily said in concern.

"what did we just see ?" Mike asked, still thinking about what had happened.

"save the question for later."

* * *

Antonio slowly opened his eyes, but this time he was greeted with a different scene. It wasn't just the blank ceiling, but the worried faces of some people. Yeah, his friends. They couldn't stay away this time.

"you woke up !" Emily gave a wide grin. The girls helped Antonio to sit up.

"dude, you're looking like a vampire without any blood!" Mike cheerfully commented.

Antonio just stared at his remark. Everyone glared at Mike.

"Mike !" Mia hissed.

"oh, sorry. Well then you're kinda looking like a lollipop." Mike said again. Everyone rolled their eyes. Antonio gave him another confused look before turning back to others,

"is it Halloween already ?" he asked simply.

The 4 rangers burst out in laugh.

"you still have your sense of humor intact !" Kevin patted him. But Antonio didn't laugh or smile.

"ok, look we didn't get a chance, but we'll make up for everything!" Emily said to Antonio.

"yes, I'll get all your favorite foods!" Mia stood up.

"I'll do all the chores!" Emily also joined.

"yeah, I can even get fishes for you!" Mike popped out with Antonio's fishing rod in his hand. This was almost…. Comical.

"guys, guys, GUYS !" Antonio sighed as they stopped jumping or talking like little kids. "there's no need for such things."

"then please forgive us !" the 4 of them said in unison and kneeled down in front of Antonio. Then he saw Jayden was standing right behind them, also looking at their behavior.

Antonio rolled his eyes and mumbled "this really is like a comedy show."

"will you all just cut it out?" he said louder, slightly annoyed. They all stood up and sat in different seats around him.

"ok, well, we still have some questions in our mind." Mike began, hesitating.

Antonio sighed.

"whom did you meet out there ?" Mia asked carefully.

"Adriana." Antonio answered, looking at another direction.

"but, didn't we just finish her off?" Mike asked the obvious question.

"it was just a remaining fragment copy of her. It was really weak." Antonio simply stated.

"so we couldn't properly destroy her ?" Kevin asked.

"you did. But somehow a fragment escaped. Well, do need to worry about it now." Antonio said in the same tone.

" we saw a glimpse of it. how did you even manage to destroy it?" Mike asked.

Antonio frowned as he tried to remember what exactly he did, but he couldn't. he shrugged.

"don't remember. Hit her maybe." He answered.

"so…." Mia began softly, "what did that thing want?"

Antonio's mind was going back to the conversation he had with Adriana, he was silent for a moment,

"not sure." He replied.

"well what did she say to you? Did the nasty nighlok threat…." Mike started to ask,

"you ask too many questions." Antonio cut their questions abruptly and got up, then walked to another room.

His statement kinda struck them. It wasn't the always goofy Antonio anymore. It felt like there was an invisible barrier between him and them.

As if he has become a silhouette of himself.

* * *

**A/N- so here is chap 4. Is anyone reading this ? hmm… but considering my condition, I might come up with a surprise chapter next time !**


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